Sanctuary

Chapter 18 (final)

"The chamber is well lit, we do not need the torches, blow them out and be cautious. I assume the bulk of the enemy force will be awaiting for us to enter open ground. Olaf and myself will try to kill as many as possible as we can before that. Maybe even draw them inside this hallway, here at least they cannot flank us."

That said, Olaf and Tim took point and took step after step. Soon enough they were close enough to assess the situation. There were a couple dozens of the creatures awaiting and growling. Tim released his first arrow, so Olaf's bolt followed shortly. The first two creatures hit the ground. One more followed, while Olaf was reloading. Then the next bolt hit its intended target. About a dozen creatures fell to ground, but others would not come towards them.

"Shit, I am out of arrows and they did not bite it. How are you Olaf?"

'Last three bolts..."

"Make two of them count. Maybe keep one, you can never know when it will come in handy. Then lets storm the room" Eben said angry. Two more corpses hit the ground, then they had no choice but to enter. In the minutes that followed, all hell broke loose. They entered the main hall, but remained close to the hallway, so they would not get flanked. Tim got rid of his bow and grabbed the small hand axe. Olaf readied his boot-blade and entered a fighting stance. In the midst of the great hall, well lit by surrounding torches and candles, there was a stone pedestal on top of which there was a dimly glowing orb. At least two dozen creatures were still guarding it. More creatures were patrolling the hall.

The creatures on patrol sprinted towards the newcomers and engaged them. The hall being big and the patrolling patterns wide, the creatures did not arrive all at once, giving Eben and his friends time to deal with them. However, the creatures guarding the orb did not move, they just starred at the fight and growled.

While fighting of the patrols, Tim got hurt. He could barely move his left hand. Luckily for him, he was fighting with a small hand axe which he could wield with his intact right arm. Nina had some scratches on her neck and wrists, nothing serious. The others were unharmed. Eben asked mentally his owl companion to circle the guarding creatures, in an attempt to draw them towards the hallway. The creatures growled angrily and fended the owl's attacks off, but were still not moving.

"It seems they won't come, so we have to deal with them near the pedestal in the open. Be careful everyone, it is possible that more creatures will come from the four secondary hallways, drawn to the fight by this insane growling. You all know what we have to do: slay as many as we can to allow Emilia to reach the pedestal. Then guard her of remaining and joining creatures until the energy barrier is cast. Ready?"

Everyone nodded. They were tired and shaking. But there was no way back. They had to renew the barrier, even if it would mean they would never leave the ruins again. There was a lot more at risk than their own lives. As the group neared the pedestal, some of the guarding creatures charged. Eben, Tim and Olaf quickly disposed of them. Nina was guarding Emilia. Slowly the group breached the enemy lines and got to the pedestal. Emilia approached the orb, the others formed a tight circle around her. All remaining guards engaged. As if it were not enough, from all four smaller hallways creatures started pouring into the hall.

Emilia put her left hand on the orb. With her right she took out her amulet from under the shirt and held it tight. Her eyes closed, she whispered:

"Oh ancestors, grant me your power to renew the barrier you once cast. Mother nature, help me channel your energies and pour them in an envelope around this orb. Help me maintain a balance within you, balance that the dark energy inside this orb would forever disturb." She remained unmoved and held the stance. Slowly the glowing grew in intensity.